ALK Copilot for North America is OUT!! YES!

[theBB]

Lane Assist is missing in the US, but how about points of interest? I could use Google Maps or Around Me to find gas stations, restaurants or banks, but unless I can copy and paste the address, it would suck to have to memorize the address and then enter it. However, I gotta say the price is right.

 

[Tunnelrunner]

Exclusion of the lane and signpost features is almost assuredly due to the proprietary North America map set that ALK uses. In the European/UK version, those maps are provided by Navteq and the lane information is included. The ALK North American maps probably don't have that info, thus they can't display it.

That brings up a number of questions as to what else is excluded from their database - thus not allowing for more advanced features. Using a proprietary database also raises concerns about the maps' accuracy, and frequency of update.

Exclusion of lane information features is enough for me to exclude this as a viable purchase solution. The unknown about map quality and updates also leads me to shy away from this, even at the discounted price. For some these may not be deal-breakers - for me they are.

I agree with all your points. This sounds like a stripped-down version, compared to its European counterpart.

Navigon is just okay, IMO (even after the update) and neither IGO nor Co-Pilot seem ready for prime-time (based off of the reviews I'm reading). I've gotten to the point where I feel like most of the TBT GPS apps are fairly comparable in quality and features...some have certain features that others don't, etc, but they all seem to balance out.

I'm only going to hold out for 2 more GPS apps:

1) TomTom. I'm not happy with how they have managed their "launch," nor their lack of communication but I look at it like this: I've been waiting for about 3 months already...what's another month or so of waiting?

2) Garmin. Okay, so this one doesn't exist (that we know of) but I'm hoping that somewhere down the line (maybe after the Nuviphone flops), Garmin will release a Nuvi app for the iPhone. They've already released an app for pilots, now we just need one for drivers.

-One side-note/observation on the "look" of the GPS apps: I do think it's interesting how Sygic, TomTom, IGO, Navigon and all the other Eurobased GPS apps share a common visual look...at least superficially. While Garmin, Telenav (AT&T Navigator), and G-Map seem to share a similar visual look (more simplified) that's different from the European apps.

 

[ramzez]

I doubt that it's an oversight. Even the screenshots in the app store show the lane assist/reality view for the uk version but not for the us version.

Also, another huge difference is that the UK version uses navteq maps whereas the US version uses "proprietary" maps.....i would rather go with navteq maps then some proprietary maps from a small company.

Hmm, looking at the website the company exists since 1979, and produces software for trucks

http://www.alk.com/pcmiler/

 

[Rayfire]

The menus are good, but do you really prefer that UI to say, navigon?

As I said I like their UI, compared to Navigon.

Still no in depth review at iTunes, makes me wonder if they even tested the app in real drive time
Anyone here from MR used the North America-Canada version? Care to share your experience?


I just want to know how good it works (if reliable or fast) on re-routing

and

how fast it picks up your location if you were interrupted by a phone call.
(just found out it never remembers your route, will be on the next update)

If this is really sub-par, I'm jumping over back to my first choice, Navigon.

 

[MotionxxUSxx]

As I said I like their UI, compared to Navigon.

Still no in depth review at iTunes, makes me wonder if they even tested the app in real drive time
Anyone here from MR used the North America-Canada version? Care to share your experience?


I just want to know how good it works (if reliable or fast) on re-routing

and

how fast it picks up your location if you were interrupted by a phone call.
(just found out it never remembers your route, will be on the next update)

If this is really sub-par, I'm jumping over back to my first choice, Navigon.

I own both a magic and iphone. I've got igomyway on my iphone which I think is awesome and I have copilot on my andorid magic. Copilot is decent on the android phone. I did have some gps aquisition issues, but that could just be the phone. Rerouting was fast. I did notice their is a tiny delay on your position with respect to where you are but this did not lead to any problems. I did like the interface, easy to use. I really haven't used it much since i use my iphone as my main phone, so I really can't write about how the poi database is. I did not like the fact that I needed a registration code from alk to use the android version. These codes can be used in the future from possibly loading on a new phone. I'm not sure if this is the case, but I am not a fan of these codes. Not sure if the copilot on the iphone will use these codes. Another nice feature on the android copilot version is the ability to download individual state maps within the application itselft. You do not have to download the enitre North America at one time and use up your memory. Not sure if this is the case with the iphone version.

 

[fredf]

I own both a magic and iphone. I've got igomyway on my iphone which I think is awesome and I have copilot on my andorid magic. .

Motionxx: would you care to provide more details on your iGo my way experience? Do you have any experience with Navigon that would allow you to compare?
For me, at least, it is down to these two apps.

thanks

 

[MotionxxUSxx]

Motionxx: would you care to provide more details on your iGo my way experience? Do you have any experience with Navigon that would allow you to compare?
For me, at least, it is down to these two apps.

thanks

Here are some quick thoughts on the igomyway app. Street names are extremely easy to read (important to me). Three views 3D+, 3D and 2D. 3D+ is interesting with elevation changes and 3d buildings. Routing is extremely quick. GPS signal locks right away. I did notice a slight lag on the 3d maps, but not enought ot cause any problems. I think this is a iphone issue as it seems all the gps turn by turn apps lag. Spoken street names are coming in an update. The thing I like best, is the app is so finger friendly. It is an amazing interface that is simple to use when in the car.

I purchased a navigon in car gps unit about 6 months ago and returned it after a few days. I thought the routing was terrible and the map graphics were hard to read including street names. I'm assuming this is the same maps and routing engine that is on the iphone. Navigon, quicly pulled out of the north american car gps units a few months later.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346414,00.asp

 

[converge]

Here are some quick thoughts on the igomyway app. Street names are extremely easy to read (important to me). Three views 3D+, 3D and 2D. 3D+ is interesting with elevation changes and 3d buildings. Routing is extremely quick. GPS signal locks right away. I did notice a slight lag on the 3d maps, but not enought ot cause any problems. I think this is a iphone issue as it seems all the gps turn by turn apps lag. Spoken street names are coming in an update. The thing I like best, is the app is so finger friendly. It is an amazing interface that is simple to use when in the car.

I purchased a navigon in car gps unit about 6 months ago and returned it after a few days. I thought the routing was terrible and the map graphics were hard to read including street names. I'm assuming this is the same maps and routing engine that is on the iphone. Navigon, quicly pulled out of the north american car gps units a few months later.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346414,00.asp

I recently downloaded the iGO app and also noticed the GPS lag. I'll cross an intersection and when I look at the map, the arrow will be slightly before the intersection. Is this normal for all TBT GPS apps on the iPhone (3GS)?

 

[MotionxxUSxx]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A400 Safari/528.16)

Here are some quick thoughts on the igomyway app. Street names are extremely easy to read (important to me). Three views 3D+, 3D and 2D. 3D+ is interesting with elevation changes and 3d buildings. Routing is extremely quick. GPS signal locks right away. I did notice a slight lag on the 3d maps, but not enought ot cause any problems. I think this is a iphone issue as it seems all the gps turn by turn apps lag. Spoken street names are coming in an update. The thing I like best, is the app is so finger friendly. It is an amazing interface that is simple to use when in the car.

I purchased a navigon in car gps unit about 6 months ago and returned it after a few days. I thought the routing was terrible and the map graphics were hard to read including street names. I'm assuming this is the same maps and routing engine that is on the iphone. Navigon, quicly pulled out of the north american car gps units a few months later.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346414,00.asp

I recently downloaded the iGO app and also noticed the GPS lag. I'll cross an intersection and when I look at the map, the arrow will be slightly before the intersection. Is this normal for all TBT GPS apps on the iPhone (3GS)?

If you use the 2d maps there is not much lag.

 

[FearlessFreep]

I recently downloaded the iGO app and also noticed the GPS lag. I'll cross an intersection and when I look at the map, the arrow will be slightly before the intersection. Is this normal for all TBT GPS apps on the iPhone (3GS)?

This is inherent to the way the iPhone hardware/OS reports the GPS information. The iPhone itself reports the GPS coordinates late - sometimes up to 3 seconds.

It brings up the issue of how do the software developers deal with the lag. One approach is to basically try and 'mask' the problem by projecting where the actual position should be based on the speed, direction of travel, route, etc. This is the approach that out Navigon uses. It's not without issues though. If the software assumes a position ahead of the actual one and if the actual is somewhere else, that can cause issues with routing.

The other approach is is to basically acknowledge the problem and not try to hide the problem and simply deal with the reality of what's being reported to the software. That's the way IGO has dealt with the issue. Of course that brings up a certain delay aspect in on-screen position, instructions too.

Which way is better? Both are probably fine for general TBT at most speeds. It's obviously most apparent when traveling at higher speeds since there's more ground covered during the delay period.

 

[converge]

This is inherent to the way the iPhone hardware/OS reports the GPS information. The iPhone itself reports the GPS coordinates late - sometimes up to 3 seconds.

It brings up the issue of how do the software developers deal with the lag. One approach is to basically try and 'mask' the problem by projecting where the actual position should be based on the speed, direction of travel, route, etc. This is the approach that out Navigon uses. It's not without issues though. If the software assumes a position ahead of the actual one and if the actual is somewhere else, that can cause issues with routing.

The other approach is is to basically acknowledge the problem and not try to hide the problem and simply deal with the reality of what's being reported to the software. That's the way IGO has dealt with the issue. Of course that brings up a certain delay aspect in on-screen position, instructions too.

Which way is better? Both are probably fine for general TBT at most speeds. It's obviously most apparent when traveling at higher speeds since there's more ground covered during the delay period.

iGO actually verifies this on their own website: http://faq.webactive.hu/questions/11/I+was+told+that+the+GPS+position+is+late

With the built-in GPS receiver of the iPhone, we encounter a certain lag that causes the location displayed somewhat later than in reality. This can make the Vehimarker (a blue arrow showing the current location) fall behind at higher speeds. This is a hardware / operating system-related issue not causing significant inconvenience in using navigation. Future iPhone OS updates may reduce this lag.

 

[Rayfire]

After all the homework done, I've bought this app and here's my impression of it.